take a look here:

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=100&hl=en&lr=&q=IDE&btnG=Search

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.mind.ca/helpfiles/hwmbdint030/Connectors/IDE.gif&imgrefurl=https://www.mind.ca/helpfiles/hwmbdint030/Connectors/IDE_ports.htm&h=230&w=379&sz=43&tbnid=i-B-Hy4vEwjL2M:&tbnh=72&tbnw=119&hl=en&start=10&prev=/images%3Fq%3DIDE%2BATA%26svnum%3D100%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

any of that look familiar?  it's important you know the difference
between IDE, SCSI, and SATA because this will help you choose and
configure the right drivers.

digression: When setting up optical writing drives it's normal (in my
experience) to need to setup the IDE drive using the scsi-ide kernel
module, which causes and IDE drive to be accessed by software as if it
were a SCSI drive.  (they do it this way in order to avoid having to
write user space software that knows both the IDE and SCSI protocols.)
first, you have to figure out what you've got though.

I'll assume you have IDE drives though, since this is almost certainly
the case.  for your edumacation:  each IDE interface (each ribbon
cable...  and, in other words, each IDE plug on the motherboard) can
have a max of two devices on it.  One of these devices must be setup as
a "master" and one must be a "slave".  This configuration typically
happens using jumpers, which are attached to the exterior of each drive.
Take your drives out of your computer and take a look.  Usually there is
a diagram on the drive itself which describes how to position the
jumpers in order to set the drive up as a master or slave.  ("cable
select" and something else are often other options, which you can safely
ignore.)

also, in the old days, once you changed anything with your IDE drive
configuration, you needed to run the BIOS/CMOS setup (just before the OS
boots) in order to let the BIOS know what's going on.  BIOSes are
generally smart enough these days though to know what's up without being
told, so you can probably skip this step too.

uhm.  maybe this helps?  try googling for ide-scsi, or whatever, and do
whatever research and reading you can there.  that should take you a
long way.

good luck.

- Ben


On Mon, Jan 16, 2006 at 08:51:14PM -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> 
> Thank you all for your replies.  I really don't know an IDE from an ATA from 
> an EIEIO.  I do know that there's one connector coming out from my 
> motherboard with ribbon cables going in both directions -- one direction goes 
> to the hard drive, the other to the optical drives in a master/slave 
> configuration (don't ask me which is which).
> 
> The new DVD burner replaces a CD reader, so there are two optical drives in 
> place of two optical drives.  I tried plugging them in one way and then the 
> other (swapping the connectors) and it won't work either way.
> 
> The other optical drive is a lite-on LTR-16101B.
> 
> Sometimes I think I have the Murphy's Law of computers.
> 
> Can anyone help?
> 
> Jennifer
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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